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Effective
July 1, 2002, the Board of Supervisors
adopted a resolution which established a debt referendum policy
for Fauquier County. Basically, the policy states that all new
construction projects or acquisitions that exceed $10,000,000
require a voter referendum. A referendum is required regardless of
how the project is to be funded.
The
policy does not specifically address spending funds on a project
prior to a required referendum.
The
School Division will be seeking Board of Supervisors' approval to
expend School Construction Reserve funding for conceptual and
schematic secondary facility designs and other related expenses in
preparation for a bond referendum. Expenditures are proposed to be
supported from the existing School Construction Reserve and
additional funding for the Reserve from FY 2003 year end balance.
If
the Board of Supervisors authorizes expenditures in advance of a
referendum, assuming a successful 2004 referendum, the School
Division expects to complete the project in August 2007 (FY 2008).
If the Board of Supervisors requires a referendum be held first,
then the project would be expected to be completed in August 2008
(FY 2009). The attached School
Division document provides the estimated timeline for both
options.
In
response to this effort, a draft modification to the current
Referendum Policy has been prepared for the Board of Supervisors'
consideration. The
modification would specifically allow for reasonable related
expenditures of available cash funds prior to a referendum. These
expenditures are those considered necessary to ensure that
Fauquier County citizens have sufficient information to make an
informed decision on a referendum issue. A proposed
Amended Referendum Policy is attached.
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